Empower Teams with Microsoft 365 Copilot

Introduction

Microsoft 365 Copilot is an AI-powered assistant integrated with Microsoft 365 that aims to enhance productivity and efficiency by automating tasks and providing intelligent insights. In this article, we will explore what Microsoft Copilot is, how it can help you, and the technical requirements and best practices to ensure a smooth and secure experience.

What is Microsoft Copilot?

Microsoft Copilot is an AI-powered assistant integrated with Microsoft 365. It is designed to enhance productivity and efficiency by automating tasks and providing intelligent insights across various applications. The goal of Copilot is to empower users to accelerate the creative process and complete tasks with ease, reducing cognitive load. Copilot is adaptable and can be customized to meet the unique needs of any organization. It can also extend its capabilities through plugins, making it a continually evolving asset that can adapt to the ever-changing landscape of business needs.

How can Copilot help you?

Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 can help you perform tasks faster and easier. Here are some examples of how Copilot can assist you in your daily tasks:

1. In Teams: Use Copilot to summarize transcribed meetings, understand context, and generate action items.
2. In Word: Utilize Copilot’s powerful generative AI to add or simplify your writing or bring an idea to life.
3. In Outlook: Take advantage of Copilot to summarize emails or entire conversations, as well as generate quick responses.
4. In PowerPoint: Give Copilot a topic, and it can create a draft of your presentation automatically.

These are just a few examples of how Copilot can enhance your productivity and streamline your work processes.

Technical Requirements

Before you can start using Copilot, ensure that your organization meets the following technical prerequisites:

Licensing

Copilot for Microsoft 365 is available as an add-on for Microsoft 365 E3/E5, A3/A5 faculty, Office 365 E3/E5, Office 365 A3/A5 faculty, as well as Business Standard/Business Premium. Users must possess an Entra ID (Azure Active Directory) account.

Channel Subscription

Organizations must subscribe to the Current Channel or Monthly Enterprise Channel for Microsoft 365 apps.

To ensure a smoother and more efficient Copilot experience, consider the following recommendations:

Network Connectivity

Align your network with the Microsoft 365 network connectivity principles.

Teams Enablement

To tap into the cross-app intelligence experiences in Teams, have a fully-featured and adopted Teams environment, and allow Teams plugins.

Secure Permissions & Content Management

Copilot relies on your organization’s existing permissions and policies to deliver pertinent information. It is crucial to have robust content management practices in place to prevent content oversharing and ensure data governance. Consider implementing the following best practices for content management:

1. Regularly Review and Update Permissions: Periodically check and adjust who has access to what in SharePoint, Teams, Email, and OneDrive, ensuring only the necessary individuals have the appropriate access levels.
2. Utilize Microsoft Defender: Implement tools like Microsoft Defender for Office 365 to protect against sophisticated threats in emails, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Microsoft Teams.
3. Implement Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Policies: Set up DLP policies across these platforms to identify, monitor, and automatically protect sensitive information.
4. Classify and Label Data with Azure Information Protection: Use Azure Information Protection to classify and label data during creation or modification. This can help apply the appropriate access controls and actions based on sensitivity.
5. Policy-based Protection: Implement AIP policies that dictate actions like encryption and visual marking based on the sensitivity of the content. These policies help prevent accidental sharing of sensitive information.
6. Use Secure Links for Sharing: Avoid sharing sensitive files openly; use secure links with expiration dates and password protections, especially in SharePoint and OneDrive.
7. Enable Audit Logging and Monitoring: Keep track of what’s happening with your data by enabling and reviewing audit logs regularly to detect any unusual or unauthorized activities.
8. Educate Users on Security Practices: Regularly train and update your team on security threats and best practices for content management to foster a culture of security awareness.
9. Encrypt Sensitive Emails: Use email encryption in Outlook to protect sensitive information from being read by unintended recipients.
10. Manage External Sharing: Carefully control external sharing settings in SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams to ensure data is not inadvertently shared with the wrong people.

By following these best practices, you can ensure the secure and efficient use of Copilot within your organization.

Leveraging Rich Data Sources

The quality of the Copilot experience relies on the data sources indexed by Microsoft 365. Organizations with a wealth of data across Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams will experience more robust and relevant suggestions from Copilot, tailored to the user’s work context and preferences. Microsoft Viva Topics can enhance the Copilot experience by organizing and surfacing relevant information across your organization’s data ecosystem.

Here’s how Viva Topics can contribute:

1. Knowledge Discovery and Organization: Viva Topics uses AI to automatically identify, process, and organize content and expertise across your organization, turning them into shared topics. This creates a rich data source that Copilot can utilize to provide more accurate and contextually relevant suggestions.
2. Enhanced Data Indexing: By indexing and categorizing information, Viva Topics helps create a more comprehensive semantic understanding of the organizational data. This enriched indexing allows Copilot to better understand and use the organization’s data for AI-driven insights and suggestions.
3. Improved Content Relevance: As users interact with Viva Topics and validate or amend the suggested topics, the system learns and refines its understanding of the content. This continuous improvement in content relevance directly benefits Copilot’s ability to deliver tailored suggestions.
4. Expertise Location: Viva Topics identifies and showcases experts within the organization. Copilot can leverage this feature to suggest or connect users with the right people, enhancing collaboration and the overall quality of work.
5. Seamless Integration: Since Viva Topics is integrated with Microsoft 365, it works cohesively with Copilot, ensuring that knowledge and content improvements are directly reflected in the suggestions and assistance provided.

By leveraging Viva Topics, you can further enhance the capabilities of Copilot and improve the overall productivity and collaboration within your organization.

Conclusion

Microsoft 365 Copilot is a powerful tool that can empower teams to work more efficiently and effectively. By meeting the technical requirements, implementing secure permissions and content management practices, and leveraging rich data sources like Viva Topics, organizations can fully harness the benefits of Copilot. Embrace a culture of continuous learning and adaptation to make the most of this AI-powered assistant and transform the way your teams work.

Contact us at https://365copilotteams.com/ to learn more about how FSi Strategies can help you prepare your company and culture to leverage Copilot and other Modern Work technologies.